Radio controlled or radio control (“RC”) model aircraft, including model airplanes and helicopters, are conventionally operated remotely with an RC transmitter. RC transmitters are commercially available from manufacturers including Airtronics™, Futaba™, JR™, Hitec™, and Tower Hobbies™. RC transmitters are handheld devices that include both joystick-type controls (such as gimbals, switches, and knobs) for producing control signals and a radio frequency signal transmission circuit for sending the control signals to a model aircraft. The control signals produced using conventional RC transmitters include both analog and digital signals. By manipulating the joystick-type controls of a conventional RC transmitter, a user might have the ability to, among other things, control the model aircraft by adjusting its elevators and ailerons, turning its rudders, or by raising or lowering its throttle.
While RC transmitters are now widely used for controlling RC model aircraft, they present certain disadvantages. One disadvantage arises from the high level of skill required for using an RC transmitter to safely fly a model aircraft. Learning how to fly a model aircraft with an RC transmitter requires practice, and even an experienced user may have difficulty using the RC transmitter in certain environments (for example, in an environment with trees or shifting winds). RC model aircraft are often damaged or destroyed by inexperienced users of an RC transmitter. Many accidents directly result from a lack of training in the use of RC transmitters. Such accidents may be avoided by proper training, for example, through training with a computer simulated RC model aircraft.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for an easier and more efficient method and system for interfacing an RC transmitter with a personal computer.